


You can stay if you want to

by unacaritafeliz



Series: Check Please Tumblr Drabbles! [3]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Shelly called this a love letter to Derek Nurse which is accurate, The gayest thing I've ever written
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 11:41:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13740135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unacaritafeliz/pseuds/unacaritafeliz
Summary: Ransom nods because that’s right, Nursey is hisfriend. Nursey is his friend and Nursey is aFrog, a tiny baby freshman that trips over everything and says ‘hashtag’ out loud and spits on the locker room floor and always has goddamn leaves in his goddamn hair.Except, well, Nursey’snota tiny baby freshman anymore.[Ransom's lonely. Nursey's good company]





	You can stay if you want to

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nanlicia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanlicia/gifts).



> Based on the prompt "You know, you can stay if you want to" which was sent to me by Nan, the love of my life.

There are many people Ransom could blame for this. He could blame his parents for wanting him to be a doctor so badly that no other option felt right and he had to quit his boring consultancy job for med school in New York City. He could blames Holster for making him so used to noise and the constant presence of the another human that his new apartment felt so lonely he had to invite Derek Malik Nurse over for dinner during the summer of 2017.

But when he opens the door to Nursey’s soft green sweater and dumb-ass smirk, Ransom mostly just blames himself for not seeing this coming.

“Hey, Nurse,” Ransom says casually, like all the breath hasn’t just left his lungs. He steps back to let Nursey into his apartment, suddenly worrying that it’s not clean enough - which is a ridiculous worry to have because this is _Nursey_. “Thanks for coming.”

“Thanks for the invite,” Nursey says, his words wrapped up in his usual chill. He places a six pack of hipster beer on the kitchen counter and Ransom realises with a jolt that Nursey’s old enough to buy a his own alcohol now. “My parents all had an event tonight so it’s great to have a friend to hang out with.”

Ransom nods because that’s right, Nursey is his _friend_. Nursey is his friend and Nursey is a _Frog_ , a tiny baby freshman that trips over everything and says ‘hashtag’ out loud and spits on the locker room floor and always has goddamn leaves in his goddamn hair.

Except, well, Nursey’s **not** a tiny baby freshman anymore.

“Well it’s great you’re here,” says Ransom. He crosses into the kitchen and begins pulling snacks out of his cupboards just to give him something to do with his hands. Nursey trails in behind him. “This apartment is way too quiet.”

“Do you miss Holster’s dulcet tones serenading you constantly?” Nursey asks, sliding into a stool at the kitchen counter. He looks like he belongs there. Ransom wants to _die_. “Because, I could totally sing to you.”

“Can you match Holtzy’s falsetto?” Ransom asks. He’s proud of how steady he keeps his voice. He grabs the bottle opener on his keyring and pops open two of the bottles, sliding one to Nursey.

“Do you want me to try?” Nursey asks, a single gorgeous eyebrow raised in challenge. He lifts the beer bottle to his lips and takes a sip, tipping his head back to expose the full length of his long, dark neck.

Ransom stares, watching the way Nursey’s throat muscles move as he swallows. He’s fucking _screwed_.

“I’ll survive,” Ransom says. His voice is too low and gravelly, but Nursey thankfully doesn’t call him out on it.

“Sure,” says Nursey, smirking at Ransom. “that’s chill.”

* * *

Dinner goes both wonderfully and terribly. It’s wonderful because Ransom doesn’t say anything embarrassing and the food is good enough that Nursey actually compliments him on it. He says Ransom’s brownies are even better than Bitty’s, which… Ransom knows it’s untrue, but his face heats up all the same.

It’s terrible because Ransom realises that Nursey’s not only grown into his looks, but he’s grown into his personality too. It’s nothing new, exactly, just an extension on all the beautiful pieces of Nursey that already existed when they were both at Samwell. Where Nursey at eighteen and nineteen had been falsely constructed chill and a desperate need to prove himself, Nursey at twenty-one finds his chill in his own confidence, in his belief that he and his feelings are valid and valuable. Nursey’s always been hard working and passionate, even as a frog, but now his work ethic and skill really shines through every inch of his personality. Ransom can really see why the team decided to put a C on his jersey; Derek Nurse is the kind of man who leads without trying to, that could lead an army into war and back out again, victorious.

Nursey’s halfway through telling him about his plans for grad school, laughing about how the doctorate in English Literature he wants will turn him into Dr. Nurse, when Ransom realises that ‘screwed’ doesn’t even begin to cover how far gone he is on Derek Malik Nurse.

* * *

After dinner, they spread out on the couch to watch Netflix. Nursey’s head is in Ransom’s lap as Ransom gently scratches at his scalp. It’s not something new, they’ve been in this position at the Haus many times before, but it feels different to Ransom. It feels important, somehow.

_It feels like the whole world is shifting around them._

“I should probably get home,” Nursey murmurs, after forty five minutes of silence. His eyes are closed. He looks so _peaceful_. “It’s getting late, and I hate traveling after midnight.”

His eyes stay shut. He makes no attempt to move. Ransom is suddenly _desperate_ to convince Nursey to stay, terrified that this will all be over as soon as he lets Nursey go home.

“You know, you can stay if you want to,” Ransom says, keeping his voice measured and careful, like his heart isn’t threatening to burst through his chest and leave a hole in it’s wake. His fingers don’t pause in Nursey’s hair. “I have a spare room - Holtzy made me promise to have a bed ready for when he visits me.”

There’s a slight pause, and all Ransom can hear is his own heartbeat in his chest and the blood rushing around his head. God, he’s so stupid, _of course_ Nursey doesn’t want to stay. Just because Ransom finally can see the beautiful things about Nursey doesn’t mean Nursey’s having any revelations about Ransom. It’s kinda predatory, actually, because Nursey probably sees Ransom as an older brother and Ransom…

“So, you’re saying I can spend the night in Holster’s bed?” Nursey asks quietly, interrupting Ransom’s anxiety fueled thought process. His eyes are still closed. He looks so _vulnerable_.

Ransom’s breath catches in his throat. His fingers stop moving and his treacherous heart dares to hope. There’s a voice in his head that sounds vaguely like Holster. It’s telling him to be brave.

“Honestly?” Ransom says, trying to keep his voice casual. He’s not sure if he succeeds. “I’d prefer it if you spent it in mine.”

Nursey’s opens his eyes as his face breaks out into the widest grin that Ransom has ever seen on him. He looks more gorgeous than ever, which is saying something since Nursey has looked some sort of gorgeous every day since Ransom met him on the taddy tour.

“I thought you’d never ask,” Nursey says.

**Author's Note:**

> [ Cross Posted from Tumblr](http://unacaritafeliz.tumblr.com/post/171050617975)


End file.
